BOSTON -- Say what you will about Carlos Gomez's struggles this season, but he's not one to make excuses. And Gomez fell squarely on the sword following the Astros' 10-9 loss to the Red Sox on Sunday at Fenway Park, telling reporters he cost his team the game.
In addition to going 0-for-3 and striking out to end the game to drop his batting average to .182, the Astros outfielder misplayed a pair of fly balls, both of which led to runs. He lost a ball in the sun in the second inning that dropped for a Josh Rutledge double, and he called off right fielder George Springer on a ball hit into the gap in the seventh and then didn't catch it, leading to the tying and go-ahead runs.
"On the second one, I called it and I didn't catch it," Gomez said. "That's it. It's my fault. We lost the game because of me today."
When asked if he saw Springer out of the corner of his eye, Gomez made no excuses.
"I called it, I'm supposed to catch it," he said. "I called it and I didn't catch it."
Gomez, acquired last July along with pitcher Mike Fiers from the Brewers in exchange for four players, has struggled in Houston. He hit .242 with four homers and 13 RBIs in 41 regular-season games after joining the Astros, and this year, he's 22-for-121 with no homers, five RBIs and 46 strikeouts. His OPS is .486.
"What can I do? I don't have anything to say," he said. "I've been playing brutal. In everything -- defensively, offensively. I'm not playing good. Just take it like a man and continue to work. That's the only thing I can do. … It has to turn around. If not, [forget] it. I can't do anything."
Astros reliever Scott Feldman appeared to get Hanigan to fly out to end the seventh and preserve a one-run lead, but Rutledge scored the tying run when the ball fell. Mookie Betts followed with a go-ahead triple to make it 10-9.
"We had another win within a few outs, but you've got to play 27 outs," manager A.J. Hinch said. "You've got to finish games. We know that and I was very proud of our guys for battling back the way the game went. It's not an easy ballpark to play in; it's not an easy pitching staff to go through. We put up two runs less than what we needed. It's a continual story for some things coming up that make us lose by a little, so it's extremely frustrating. I don't know what to tell you."
Feldman said the Astros keep shooting themselves in the foot.
"We've got a lot of talent in this room," he said. "I feel like there have been too many times where we head from the stadium saying, 'Man, we should have won that game.' Today's just an example of that. I think that we've got a winning team in here and we just need to actually go do it now. It's just been a tough stretch. I think that everybody's going to stay positive and upbeat, but it gets to the point where talking about it gets old and we actually have to go out there and start winning some series."